10 Most Popular Tekken Characters
4. King
First
Appearance: Tekken (King I), Tekken 3 (King II)
Similarly to Kuma, King is another moniker shared between a pair of characters in the Tekken franchise. The first King, dubbed ‘King I’, is present in both 1994’s Tekken and 1995’s Tekken 2. ‘King II’ takes up this mantel in 1997’s Tekken 3, returning for all subsequent releases.
The original King is a wrestler hailing from Mexico who fights in the King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to raise money for an orphanage which he runs. He is killed by Ogre, the character who appears as the final boss in Tekken 3, between the events of Tekken 2 and Tekken 3.
King II was originally a child living in King I’s orphanage. He takes up the mantel of King after the death of King I in order to continue to provide for the orphanage. King II trained with the original incarnation of Armor King to master the art of wrestling. Both King I and King II have an identical playstyle, in the same way as Kuma I and Kuma II.
The King pair are some of the few characters to be a constant
presence throughout the franchise. They have long been the strongest grappler
characters in the Tekken series. The mystique of the Kings, constantly hidden
behind their jaguar masks, has long made them popular with Tekken fans.